Museums for the shopaholic

Italy eats and breathes fashion. Dressing well and creating clothing and accessories that are absolutely stunning has been happening here for generations. It may not come to mind when you are booking your Florence apartment that in addition to the museums that house the works of the masters of oil and marble that there are also museums for the master of silk and leather.

• Virtually a sculptor in his own right, Roberto Capucci’s creations found a permanent home at the end of 2007 in the Villa Bardini. This avant garde designer used fabric the same way Michelangelo used marble. Hundreds of his dresses and thousands of his sketches are on display, housed in the same location that gives you the Bardini Gardens.


• Approximately 10 minutes walking distance from Roberto Capucci’s museum is the Ferragamo Museum. The same building that showcases the company’s designs along the Arno also displays one of the most brilliant collections of modern fashion anywhere. It also happens to be a stone’s throw from the best shopping in the city and close to most lodging in Florence.


• If historical fashion from the Medicis forward interests you the Galleria del Costume displays over 6,000 pieces marking the progression from corsets and stays of the 16th century to the 1930s. It is located in the Palazzo Pitti and walking between all three museums would take less than 30 minutes—a triangle of fashion excellence.